The Importance of Universities of Applied Sciences for Regional Development – Theory and empirical Evidence for the German Middle Lower Rhine Area

The existence of an adequate research- and development-environment is seen as a locational factor of extraordinary importance for a region. A university of applied sciences as one component of such an environment should be able to influence the innovation behaviour of enterprises positively, although those universities traditionally are noticed as educational institutions. But the education of students can be interpreted as a "supply side effect of those universities, too, because education of students and further education of employees will improve the regions equipment with human capital and so will yield a higher labour productivity. Additionally the transfer of knowledge from science to the entrepreneurial practice is able to increase productivity within the region in question. Another aspect is the strengthening of the adjustment flexibility of regions regarding processes of structural change. The flexibility will be the higher, the higher the qualification level of employees is. The last aspect of universities of applied science in opposite to (ordinary) universities is their stronger regional orientation. The educational supply especially is directed to younger people, who are living in the region. As a result the existing reserves of talents will be exhausted as best as possible. The paper is organised as follows: First a classification of regional supply side effects as mentioned above as well as demand side effects (income and employment effects of the institutions activities) will be presented. In the second part of the paper estimation results of income and employment effects of the University of Applied Sciences Lower Rhine on the basis of a regional multiplier analysis will be described. Supply side effects of this university have been evaluated by using the results of an enterprise poll. In the third part results of that poll about the enterprises knowledge, notices and assessments of the university activities are presented as well as the innovation behaviour of the enterprises and the related impacts of the university. The paper closes with a summary and suggestions regarding further research.

Accuracy and Dynamics of Hash-Based Load Balancing Algorithms for Multipath Internet Routing

This paper studies load balancing for multipath Internet routing. We focus on hash-based load balancing algorithms that work on the flow level to avoid packet reordering which is detrimental for the throughput of transport layer protocols like TCP. We propose a classification of hash-based load balancing algorithms, review existing ones and suggest new ones. Dynamic algorithms can actively react to load imbalances which causes route changes for some flows and thereby again packet reordering. Therefore, we investigate the load balancing accuracy and flow reassignment rate of load balancing algorithms. Our exhaustive simulation experiments show that these performance measures depend significantly on the traffic properties and on the algorithms themselves. As a consequence, our results should be taken into account for the application of load balancing in practice

On uniqueness and stability for the Boltzmann-Enskog equation

The time-evolution of a moderately dense gas in a vacuum is described in classical mechanics by a particle density function obtained from the Boltzmann-Enskog equation. Based on a McKean-Vlasov equation with jumps, the associated stochastic process was recently constructed by modified Picard iterations with the mean-field interactions, and more generally, by a system of interacting particles. By the introduction of a shifted distance that exactly compensates for the free transport term that accrues in the spatially inhomogeneous setting, we prove in this work an inequality on the Wasserstein distance for any two measure-valued solutions to the Boltzmann-Enskog equation. As a particular consequence, we find sufficient conditions for the uniqueness and continuous-dependence on initial data for solutions to the Boltzmann-Enskog equation applicable to hard and soft potentials without angular cut-off

Harvesting selectivity and stochastic recruitment in economic models of age-structured fisheries

Peer reviewe

Ultrashort vortex pulses with controlled spectral gouy rotation

Recently, the spatio-spectral propagation dynamic of ultrashort-pulsed vortex beams was demonstrated by 2D mapping of spectral moments. The rotation of characteristic anomalies, so-called "spectral eyes", was explained by wavelength-dependent Gouy phase shift. Controlling of this spectral rotation is essential for specific applications, e.g., communication and processing. Here, we report on advanced concepts for spectral rotational control and related first-proof-of-principle experiments. The speed of rotation of spectral eyes during propagation is shown to be essentially determined by angular and spectral parameters. The performance of fixed diffractive optical elements (DOE) and programmable liquid-crystal-on silicon spatial light modulators (LCoS-SLMs) that act as spiral phase gratings (SPG) or spiral phase plates (SPP) is compared. The approach is extended to radially chirped SPGs inducing axially variable angular velocity. The generation of time-dependent orbital angular momentum (self-torque) by superimposing multiple vortex pulses is proposed. © 2020 by the authors

Increased expression of CD154 and FAS in SLE patients' lymphocytes

An increased level of apoptotic material and B cell activation leading to autoantibody production are hallmarks of systemic lupus erythematoses (SLE). Increased FAS expression, apoptosis, and CD154-mediated signaling, enabling T-B cell interaction are involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. This study addresses the expression profile of CD154 and FAS in the peripheral blood of patients with SLE, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and normal healthy control donors. Surface markers on peripheral blood T and B cells from patients and healthy control donors were assessed using flow cytometry. The expression of CD154 and FAS were significantly increased in T and B cells of SLE patients as compared to healthy control donors and RA patients. In SLE and RA patients, FAS expression strongly correlated with CD154 expression on T cells, which was not found in healthy control donors. FAS expression was also associated with the occurrence of anti-DNA antibodies. We demonstrate high CD154 and FAS expression as a characteristic feature of SLE. This pattern may reflect simultaneous activation of apoptosis and activation of B-T cell interaction in SL

Adaptation of antiretroviral therapy in human immunodeficiency virus infection with central nervous system involvement

The authors describe a patient with known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection who presented with two generalized seizures and was found to have extensive white matter disease and a left/bilateral temporo-occipital focal slowing on electroencephalography (EEG). There were no magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indications for opportunistic infection. Plasma viremia was controlled, whereas viral replication was uncontrolled in CSF. CSF-specific genotype-guided adaptation of the antiretroviral therapy in order to optimize central nervous system (CNS) penetration resulted in clinical improvement and normalization of MRI and EEG. Our case report illustrates the importance of individualized antiretroviral therapy in HIV infected patients with neurological complication

SamuROI, a Python-Based Software Tool for Visualization and Analysis of Dynamic Time Series Imaging at Multiple Spatial Scales

The measurement of activity in vivo and in vitro has shifted from electrical to optical methods. While the indicators for imaging activity have improved significantly over the last decade, tools for analysing optical data have not kept pace. Most available analysis tools are limited in their flexibility and applicability to datasets obtained at different spatial scales. Here, we present SamuROI (Structured analysis of multiple user-defined ROIs), an open source Python-based analysis environment for imaging data. SamuROI simplifies exploratory analysis and visualization of image series of fluorescence changes in complex structures over time and is readily applicable at different spatial scales. In this paper, we show the utility of SamuROI in Ca2+-imaging based applications at three spatial scales: the micro-scale (i.e., sub-cellular compartments including cell bodies, dendrites and spines); the meso-scale, (i.e., whole cell and population imaging with single-cell resolution); and the macro-scale (i.e., imaging of changes in bulk fluorescence in large brain areas, without cellular resolution). The software described here provides a graphical user interface for intuitive data exploration and region of interest (ROI) management that can be used interactively within Jupyter Notebook: a publicly available interactive Python platform that allows simple integration of our software with existing tools for automated ROI generation and post-processing, as well as custom analysis pipelines. SamuROI software, source code and installation instructions are publicly available on GitHub and documentation is available online. SamuROI reduces the energy barrier for manual exploration and semi-automated analysis of spatially complex Ca2+ imaging datasets, particularly when these have been acquired at different spatial scales.Peer Reviewe

Patency rates of endoscopically harvested radial arteries one year after coronary artery bypass grafting

ObjectivesTo improve patients’ acceptance of the radial artery as a graft for coronary revascularization, we introduced an endoscopic harvesting technique. The aim of this study was to assess graft quality 1 year after the operation.MethodsIn 50 patients who underwent endoscopic radial artery harvesting for coronary artery bypass grafting, 64-slice computed tomography, electrocardiography, and echocardiography were utilized to assess graft patency and left ventricle function at a 1-year follow-up. In addition, the influencing factors of radial artery graft patency were evaluated. Radial artery patency was compared with a control group from our database.ResultsAny patency of endoscopically harvested radial artery grafts was 78% (39/50) and perfect patency was 72% (36/50) 1 year after coronary revascularization. The implanting surgeon and graft harvester, patient factors, graft properties, medication, and target territory did not influence the patency rates of the radial artery graft. The only significant and strong parameter to predict perfect graft patency was the severity of the target vessel stenosis (P < .001). In patients with a target vessel stenosis of 90% or greater, radial artery graft patency was 90.3% (28/31). Patency rates of endoscopically (72%) and conventionally (74%) harvested radial arteries were not different (P = .822).ConclusionsPatency rates 1 year after endoscopic radial artery harvesting are comparable to the open technique. On the basis of our results, we attempt to use the radial artery as a bypass graft only for target coronary arteries with 90% or greater stenosis. We recommend endoscopic harvesting as the technique of choice to harvest the radial artery